‘We need to keep passing the ball and be brave’ - Dykes

‘We need to keep passing the ball and be brave’ - Dykes

Ballinamallard are out of the Bet MacLean League Cup after a 3-0 home defeat to reigning league champions Linfield, but despite defeat to the Blues, manager Gavin Dykes was glad to see some positives signs from the team, especially in a first half that saw the home team control possessions for lengthy spells.
Ultimately though, as the game wore on the Belfast team started to gain the upper hand.
“I thought we were good in the first half,” said the Ballinamallard manager.
“I thought we kept the ball better than them and made them chase us around, but we ran out of steam. We are not as fit as them and we are not as conditioned as them.
“They are nearly full time and we are not and won’t be. In the second half we weren’t able to play with the same intensity we had in the first half.”
Having started the season with a conventional back four, Ballinamallard have switched to a 3-5-2 formation as they look for a solution to end their winless run, and the manager believes that it is a system that may yet bear fruit.
“We played 3-5-2 last week against Ards and we played 3-5-2 for a lot of the game against Ballymena as well and we look comfortable with it. To play that system you have to be able to pass the ball and we did that well,” said Gavin.
“We conceded a poor goal from a corner. It was a set play and we got done with it but we have to take the positives out of it. We know how good a player Clarke is. We played Leddy at left wing back and I thought he was very good. Colm has been good, Matty (Smyth) has been good.
“We are trying to play in the right way, and we will continue to do that and hopefully it will bear fruits for us. I thought McGinty was excellent as well and back to his best, and it’s great to see that because he is a huge player for us. We just have to keep going and keep working and hopefully it will come.”
Ballinamallard will have a welcome break of ten days before their next league fixture and with a relegation scrap seeming looming, a victory over Warrenpoint could kick start their campaign.
“We have to be brave and pass the ball and that can be tough at times, but I thought we kept doing that against Linfield,” said Gavin.
“We tried to do the right things. We have a lot of sore bodies but we have ten days to recover now. We will get in to training on Thursday night again and then give them the weekend off.
“Confidence is still high with this bunch of lads and I have great faith in them. If we keep passing the ball and keep being brave then we should start to see some results.”

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